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Commission accepts Knight Foundation CIO search grant; approves IT consulting and firewall purchases
Summary
Commission accepted a $34,800 Knight Foundation grant to pay a national firm to assist in recruiting a new chief information officer, and approved related IT contracts including a $40,000 CDW‑G consulting agreement and a $168,415.44 gateway firewall upgrade.
The Macon‑Bibb County Commission accepted a $34,800 grant from the Knight Foundation to hire a firm to assist in recruiting and screening candidates for a new chief information officer. The mayor said the county will retain final hiring authority while Knight Foundation funds will pay the search firm. The commission voted to accept the grant and authorize the mayor to execute an agreement with Raptellus Inc., the firm identified by the Knight Foundation.
A county representative described Raptellus as a national firm with prior experience working with Knight Foundation communities. "They can recruit and screen, and recommend a list to us. We'll make the ultimate decision," a county representative said.
The commission also approved three IT‑related agreements on the same agenda: a professional services agreement with CDW‑G for $40,000 to provide IT consulting; a purchase order to Southern Computer Warehouse for camera equipment (covered separately in another article); and an agreement with 1 Accor Technologies for two gateway firewall system upgrades priced at $168,415.44 to be paid from the IT security and infrastructure repairs and maintenance budget.
Why it matters: the CIO search grant and the IT purchases aim to address staffing shortages, recruitment challenges and cybersecurity needs cited by county officials. The mayor and staff said updating infrastructure and recruiting a qualified CIO are priorities for continuity and security.
The Knight grant has no local match and the county stated it has vetted the national search firm. Staff said if the initial slate of candidates is not satisfactory, the firm will continue recruitment under the same grant amount. The CDW‑G agreement was described as professional services from the general fund to assist the IT department, and the Accor Technologies purchase is a capital/maintenance expense from the IT security budget.
Ending: All items were approved and sent to the consent agenda; the county emphasized that the final hiring decision for the CIO remains with the county.
